It's a fire!!!... sale. New Japan is sold by Bushiroad to TV Asahi & CyberAgent, what will that mean going forward for the promotion? On the other side of the planet, Progress Wrestling is sold to Big Damo & Nikki Storm - what's that sale going to mean? Oh and Utami Hayashishita is back in Stardom, or is she?? Welcome to WrestleWatch Episode 82!

WrestleWatch is a project focused on analysis and discussion of free agency in the world of professional wrestling. Each week, Doug & Ryan explore the potential jumps and the implications that they can have on the industry, as well as adjacent topics in wrestling such as business developments, statistics, and other factors and news in the landscape.

Music Provided by Wendi Freeman [TikTok & Instagram: @maritalstreep]

Read more from WrestleWatch on our substack! https://wrestlewatch.substack.com

Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/ryanWW Bluesky: wrestlewatch.bsky.social Twitter: wrestlewatch_

The New Day, Tanga Loa, and Jeff Cobb are out at WWE as the company asks many to take 50% pay cuts or walk. AEW's media rights are in peril with the Paramount Skydance acquisition of Warner Bros Discovery - or at least that's what WWE propaganda wants you to believe, per a WWE source. MLW announces a new partnership with Stardom. And the Owen Cup brackets were announced. Welcome to WrestleWatch Episode 81!

WrestleWatch is a project focused on analysis and discussion of free agency in the world of professional wrestling. Each week, Doug & Ryan explore the potential jumps and the implications that they can have on the industry, as well as adjacent topics in wrestling such as business developments, statistics, and other factors and news in the landscape.

This episode was recorded live on 5/17/26. Music Provided by Wendi Freeman [TikTok & Instagram: @maritalstreep]

Read more from WrestleWatch on our substack! https://wrestlewatch.substack.com

Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/ryanWW Bluesky: wrestlewatch.bsky.social Twitter: wrestlewatch_

Rhea Ripley calls this "the worst time of the year" - the annual tradition of TKO record profits and WWE releases! Lots of folks to discuss such as Aleister Black, Zelina Vega, Motor City Machine Guns, Santos Escobar, Kairi Sane, Zoey Stark, and the entire Wyatt Sicks. Welcome to WrestleWatch Episode 80!

This episode was recorded live on 4/26/26. Music Provided by Wendi Freeman [TikTok & Instagram: maritalstreep]

Read more from WrestleWatch on our substack! https://wrestlewatch.substack.com Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/ryanWW Bluesky: wrestlewatch.bsky.social Twitter: wrestlewatch_

As part of this podcast episode we considered where we predict the Mania 2026 batch of WWE releases will end up by the end of 2026. We considered the folks who have been most discussed from the releases and that isn’t a comment on anybody’s talent or skill level. We’ll be doing a Free Agency Tracker reassessment next week to consider these talents’ inclusion on the Tracker.